Her father's group of super-spies were holed up in an oddly familiar black van. Vaughn greeted the others – there were three in the van – by saying, "We've got them. Let's go."
The driver was a trim, compact Asian man with a goatee. He threw the van into gear as Vaughn slammed the door. He peeled away from the safe house. Julia began to count. It was a trick her mother had taught her for long car journeys or boring classes – see how many times you would fit six or eight or seventeen into the time remaining. She had fit fifty-seven thirties into the journey when the van slowed.
"Here," one of the agents said. "Take her in, we can use her."
Vaughn grabbed Julia and yanked her out of the van. Julia blinked up at a tall black building. She barely had time to notice the landmarks around it before her father dragged her through the steel-and-glass doors and into a black marble foyer. Agents piled in behind them, guns cocked.
Julia took a quick look around. There wasn't anyone else. Was she really trapped?
Vaughn unhooked a walkie-talkie from his webbed nylon belt. He flicked it on, releasing Julia's arm as he did. Without thinking or considering the handful of men with guns behind her, she took off down the hallway.
Shots rang out. Julia shrieked and ducked into a corridor to her left. She ran, ignoring the yells behind her and the pain in her leg from the balcony incident. Suddenly she ran into something solid and was thrown back onto the marble floor.
"Umph!" someone said.
Horrified, Julia looked up at the black-clad figure. Then she said gratefully, "Aunt Nadia!"
"Come on," Nadia said, grasping her niece's arm.
They ran down the hallway, away from the way Julia had come. More shots ran gout as they ran.
At the end of the hallway was a library. Nadia shoved Julia through the door. Julia stopped short, seeing her mother and Weiss at the back of the room. "Mom!" she shouted gratefully.
Sydney looked up. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Dad's here!" Julia managed to say. "He killed Hanover and Watson!"
Sydney's eyes grew large.
"What do you want to do?" Weiss asked.
"Get the Scrolls," Sydney ordered.
"Who's he working for?" Julia demanded.
"No time, Julia. Give me your backpack."
Julia slipped off the canvas sack and handed it to her mother, who unzipped it and carefully put in several rolls of yellowing parchment. Sydney leaned closed to her daughter and put a gentle hand under Julia's chin. "Hey. Listen to me. You are going to get out of here. You are going to take the Scrolls back to Sloane, okay?"
"I'm not going without you!" Julia said fiercely.
"Julia! Be reasonable. You have to get out of here."
"What does Dad want?" Julia asked.
"You," Sydney said simply. "Now, go. You've got the map, right?'
"I memorized it."
"Dixon's outside the south entrance. How many men are with Dad?"
Julia thought back. "Five. Plus him."
"Thank you, baby." Sydney hugged Julia tightly. "I'll see you back at home."
Julia took a deep breath, then began running.
Dixon looked up in surprise. Julia was hurrying towards the van. Her pants were covered in blood and her hair was streaming out behind her. "Hey!" he said.
"Go!" she gasped, swinging herself into the van. "Drive!"
He did as she asked, heading towards a little-known airstrip south of the town. Julia tried to relax, but she couldn't knowing that her mother and father were involved in a battle over something neither of them had. She had it, and she was going to keep it safe.